y’all since pb is timeless can we just say that it’s pride month always on here, I’m not ready for it to be not June! and regardless pride is FOREVER AND EVER but like!!! ykwim!! I wanna be able to wish you all happy pride any time, not just for a month.

so if u see me around please say happy pride and we can celebrate together anytime any day of the year okay?? :))

HAPPY PRIDE BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE!!! 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈🌈💛🌻💫🌠💌🫂

writing this as I listen to the girls like girls soundtrack for the movie :)

Hi Everybody!! I'm AcidicChaos and I answer to any versions/variations of it!

I don't think I have the words to explain how ridiculously excited I am to do this quest with all of you!!

About The Quest A lot of these books feel like a fever dream on the first pass and it's not until your second time through that you may see the full picture and benefits, however for this badge you only need to read the books once! So, to try and help make that first pass through as fruitful as possible, I realized that these books thrive on discussion, and I wholeheartedly encourage it in the forums!!

Please keep in mind: there is no right way to read or interpret these books. All interpretations are valid, and discussions should stay respectful.

Monthly Buddy Reading Matching Because these books are so much more rewarding when we get to talk through them, but not every book will suit everyone's tastes, instead of quest-wide readalongs I'll be organizing a monthly buddy read matching to help facilitate readalongs and buddy reads at least until the buddy reads planning features roll out for Pagebound Plans. You can find more information on the monthly buddy read matching 🔗Here.

Quest Recommendations I'm always open to recommendations, but I do have a fairly strict set of criteria for inclusion. Out of respect for other quest makers with overlapping interests, I'm keeping the full criteria close to my chest for now until those other quests drops - but I promise I take every recommendation seriously. Because of this strict criteria I may be a bit slower to adding new recommendations to the quest than other quest makers, so please have patience with me. To make sure I don't miss your recommendation, please post your recommendations 🔗Here.

Where To Start?? If you want to ease in, short story collections are a great entry point!! You get a feel for the mode without committing to a full novel (please check content warnings before diving in, some of these are dark). Below you'll find 🔗links to some great starting places on this list: Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges The Milk Bowl of Feathers: Essential Surrealist Writings by Mary Ann Caws The Houseguest and Other Stories by Amparo Davila The Complete Stories of Leonora Carrington The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories Her Body and Other Parties: Stories by Carmen Maria Machado Today I Wrote Nothing: The Selected Writings of Daniil Kharms by Daniil Kharms

If you prefer a singular story, but on the shorter side so it's not as big of a commitment, some of these short novels under 200 pages could be a great place to jump in! Pig Wife by Abbey Luck Note: Don't mind the page count on PB, it's incorrect at the time of posting this, the book is around 540 pages, but it's a graphic novel so it will fly by plus it has some gorgeous surrealist artwork! The Street of Crocodiles by Bruno Schulz Lobster by Guillaume Lecasble Froth on the Daydream by Boris Vian Temporary by Hilary Leichter Nadja by Andre Breton The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon Kangaroo Notebook by Kobo Abe The Passion According to G.H. by Clarice Lispector Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino

And, of course, there's a reason the word Kafkaesque exists! If you haven't read The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, that's always a perfect place to start!

A Little About Me & This Quest I've been drawn to surreal and absurd literature since I was a teenager starting with The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka! I found it after watching a documentary about the books the Nazis burned, and figured if they wanted to burn it, I needed to read it. This kickstarted my love for books that feel like a fever dream, dense with metaphor and symbolism, that no matter how strange or silly they get are ultimately revealing a (often dark) truth about raw humanity and the world we live in. That thread doesn't belong to any one genre and this quest has been such a labor of love tracing is across many different genres!

I can't wait to hear all of your theories and interpretations in the forums!!!!!

AcidicChaos

”…U.S. leaders have been dedicated above all to making the world safe for global corporate investment and the private profit system. Pursuant of this goal, they have used fascism to protect capitalism, while claiming to be saving democracy from communism.”

Almost 20 years since this book was first published and nothing’s changed baybeee 🔥🔥🔥

Ok I absolutely love the array of options for avatars on PB, but obviously there aren't an infinite number of options. If you could have anything as your avatar what would it be?

I wish that I could have one of the cat avatars but it would look like one of my cats. Neither of the cats look like mine (but I do dream of getting a black cat one day!) Alternatively, I'd love if there were a black tea option because I don't drink green tea so the green tea avatar doesn't speak to me.

Again, I'm not demanding that J&L make infinite avatars this is more of a "you have a magic wand" sort of scenario!

Check off the things you have and haven't done and give us your total score!

1. Read a book in one sitting
2. Owned multiple copies of one book
3. Spent hours in a bookshop
4. Gone to a book signing
5. Cried over a book
6. Pre-ordered a book
7. Skipped ahead to the ending
8. Hated a book everyone else loved
9. Bought a book for its cover
10. Stayed up all night reading
11. Met a friend in a book club
12. Had a book hangover
13. Read an entire book series
14. Damaged a library book
15. Thrown a book across the room
16. Binged on reading all day
17. Fallen asleep reading a book
18. Ruined a book in a bath